Cheap Shot
by Bellicose Blue
Summary: She looks down at the pale blue nail polish peeping through her open-toed heels and scowls. She should have gone with a different color. Maybe a red as dark as the blood she wants to see staining the floor. Cato's-blood-red, not Cato's-eyes-blue.


**A/N:** This is fluffy and ridiculous and probably the crackiest thing I've ever written and I'm not ashamed of it, not at all. Italics are Glimmer's texts and normal is Clove's. Canon ages for pretty much everyone are changed to fit.

No, the second pairing in the summary is not a misclick of Marvel. I'm nearly positive this is the first Glimmer/Madge fic, like, _ever_ , and I never ever thought it would work at all but I'll defend it to the death if need be because they're absolutely precious.

* * *

When Clove was a bold little girl with all of four years to her name, she stole the toy of another little girl with a quick smile and quicker fists. That's the best mistake she ever made.

* * *

\- _ok so_

 _\- last night_

 _\- i met a boy_

\- Glim you don't even like boys

\- _not like that_

 _\- but anyway_

 _\- we were talking_

 _\- hes a year below us_

 _\- and apparently hes dating katniss's little sister's bff_

\- Wait, how old is he?

\- Isn't her sister, like, eight?

\- _nooooo_

 _\- she's sixteen_

 _\- katniss just thinks shes still a baby_

 _\- which shes not_

 _\- remember how awful we were when we were sixteen ?_

\- How could I forget

\- You spent half the year dating some boy who always tried to look down your shirt because his older brother gave him booze

\- Cheap booze

\- _yeah_

 _\- that was a mistake_

 _-_ That was also only two years ago

\- You're not old and wise or something now

 _\- stop interrupting_

\- Sorry

\- _no ur not_

 _\- but i love u anyway_

\- Love you too

\- _so anyway_

 _\- im talking to this kid_

 _\- hes foreign_

 _\- from missouri or something_

 _\- idk_

\- Missouri is a state

\- That isn't foreign

\- Did you even pass geography?

\- _shhh_

 _\- but hes coming to finnicks party this friday_

 _\- and hes bringing his cousin down from missouri_

 _\- hes gonna be a transfer student next yr_

 _\- he showed me a pic of him_

\- Is there a point to this story

 _\- just let me finish_

 _-_ Fine

 _\- anyway_

 _\- let me tell you clove_

 _\- this boy is HOT_

\- I don't believe you

\- You don't have a great track record with guys

\- _girls are easier_

 _\- but anyway_

 _\- REALLY HOT_

 _\- u have to meet him in person_

 _\- im making u go to that party_

 _-_ I hate parties

 _\- i dont care_

 _\- REALLY HOT_

* * *

Glimmer smears some sort of paste on Clove's face as she squirms and tries to pull away. "That stuff is _vile_ , Glim," she complains loudly, wrinkling her nose and thrashing helplessly as the blonde pins her against the mirror.

"If you'd just stop struggling, it would already be over," the other girl retorts, wrapping an arm around Clove in a headlock while she reaches blindly back for the dresser with the other. Her fingers close on a tube, and Clove immediately redoubles her efforts to escape once she sees what it is. "Oh my god, calm down! A little mascara isn't going to kill you!"

"You say that," she wheezes, scrabbling at Glimmer's arm- _god_ , she needs to work out more; this is pathetic. "It looks like a carcinogen."

Glimmer snorts. "You say that about _everything_. It's like you enjoy ruining my life." She pitches her voice so high Clove tries to clamp her hands over her ears. "'Don't eat that steak, Glim!' 'Stay pale forever, Glim!' 'Don't sniff that asbestos, Glim!'"

"I sound _nothing_ like that," she protests. Glimmer just laughs. While Clove was cringing at her imitation, she finished her makeup.

"So, tell me about this supposedly gorgeous boy," Clove says a few minutes later, leaning against the base of the bed as Glimmer leans in close to the mirror to draw on thick wings of kohl. She's holding a bottle of sky blue nail polish and carefully applying it to her toes with a surgeon's precision, tongue poking out the side of her mouth as she concentrates.

Glimmer squeals and caps the wand quickly, whirling around so that the pale pink petals of her dress flutter up around her thighs. "He's _so_ cute, Clo, you're just going to _die_ when you see him! I mean, from what I saw in the picture Marv showed me, he's super tall and _really_ built. I know you're particular about hair-"

"That's an understatement," Clove sniffs. "Good hair is important."

"- but I don't think you'll be disappointed with him. _At all._ "

* * *

 _\- clo_

 _\- clooooooveeee_

 _\- i met someoneeeeee_

 _\- omgggg_

 _\- im rlly excited_

\- I couldn't tell

 _\- shes super cute_

 _\- and sweet_

 _\- and shes wearing this goddamn white dress_

 _\- like_

 _\- its weird and shapeless and totally out of season_

 _\- it shouldnt look good at all_

 _\- BUT IT DOES_

\- I'm really happy for you, Glim

 _\- and she likes strawberries_

 _\- like really likes them_

 _\- its kinda weird_

 _\- but kinda cute_

 _\- speaking of cute_

 _\- i saw u and that boy_

 _\- whatd u think ?_

\- I think he's an asshole

 _\- didnt go so great then_

\- Not really

\- Pro tip: Any sentence that starts off with "You're cute, but" probably shouldn't be said aloud

 _\- but?_

\- "but you're a total bitch"

\- I think he said something else after that but I'd already thrown my drink at him

- _oh_

 _\- want me to go fight him for u?_

 _\- i will u know_

 _\- even tho hes like twice my size and looks like he nvr leaves the gym_

\- That's okay

\- I have something better in mind

* * *

She looks down at the pale blue nail polish peeping through her open-toed heels and scowls. She should have gone with a different color. Maybe a red as dark as the blood she wants to see staining the floor. Cato's-blood-red, not Cato's-eyes-blue.

Clove entertains the idea of killing him as she unstraps those shoes and flings them one by one across the room. They make a faint thump as they hit the floor, but it's not satisfying enough. She wants to throw something heavier, wants to break something, wants to be broken. _How dare he?_ The soothing sea-green fabric of her dress does nothing to calm her as she peels it over her head and tosses it beside the shoes.

It's pitch black outside, and she hasn't slept all night, but she feels _alive_. She's thrumming with energy, electricity coursing through her veins, anger sharpening her vision into that famed Fuhrman focus. She's competitive, always has been, and she _hates_ to lose. She won't let this- this giant from _Missouri_ , of all places- get the best of her. She'll show him. She'll show everyone.

 _God_ , if only he could see the way she's smiling.

* * *

\- _so whats ur plan_

 _\- u cant keep a secret from me forever clove_

 _\- cloverrrr_

 _\- ill find out someday u know_

\- Don't call me Clover

 _\- i wont stop unless u tell me The Plan_

 _\- clover_

\- Oh my god

\- First of all, we're not some spy team

\- "The Plan" is not capitalized like a secret mission

 _\- ur no fun_

\- Second, I don't really have a plan yet

- _what happened to hving something better in mind?_

\- Didn't work out

\- Did you know the TSA won't just put people on the no-fly list for you?

\- What a wild world

 _\- thats a dumb plan_

 _\- then hed be stuck here_

\- Cars are a thing that exist, you know

 _\- like anybody with that body would deprive an entire airline full of people of the experience_

 _\- speaking of_

 _\- u never said if he was hot or not_

\- ?

\- He called me a bitch

 _\- thats not an answer_

\- Sorry, I guess I was too distracted by his douchebag polo to notice what his face looked like

 _\- so u saw his body then?_

 _\- rate out of 10_

\- You're insane

 _\- thank u_

\- Not really a compliment

 _\- ur evading the question_

\- Ughh

\- You were right

 _\- HAH_

 _\- I TOLD U HE WAS HOT_

 _\- DID I NOT SAY HOW HOT HE WAS_

 _\- RLLY RLLY HOT_

 _\- AND I DONT EVEN LIKE BOYS BUT ID DO HIM_

\- That's actually really gross

- _I WAS RIGHT_

 _\- I TOLD U SO_

\- Yeah

\- It's unfair how someone can look that good and be that much of an ass

 _\- tell me about it_

 _\- how is marv even friends with somebody like that_

 _\- hes such a nice guy too_

\- Marv?

 _\- marvel_

 _\- remember i introduced him to u at the start of the party_

 _\- he made a joke about u being a spice girl_

 _\- and u said "wow ur parents really had their hopes crushed with u didnt they"_

\- Oh yeah

\- I remember that now

\- I guess I kind of am a bitch

 _\- but ur hot so its ok_

\- So is Cato

 _\- u learned his name?_

 _\- weird_

 _\- no one usually makes that much of an impression on u_

\- No one usually calls me a bitch either

 _\- tru_

* * *

She spends a few days moping around the mall with Glimmer and making some _vicious_ comments about Cato as they try on shoes and jewelry. One afternoon, as she's in the middle of describing in _excruciating_ detail just how the liquid of her drink struck him _right_ in the center of his crisp white shirt, Glimmer sighs and cuts her off. "Clove, I don't think you hate Cato."

Her jaw drops, and for a minute all she can do is _gape_ at the ridiculous idea- was she not _just_ gleefully recounting the way she'd thrown her drink at him? When her mouth can finally work again, she says, "Are you high or something? Because you're not making any sense."

Glimmer frowns and corrects herself. "Well, I don't think you _want_ to hate him." Clove immediately starts protesting, _loudly_ , and Glimmer just talks louder. "I mean, really? The no-fly list? That's _lame_ , Clo. When you were _twelve_ , you put black hair dye in that Marina girl's shampoo because she called you stupid, and you had _three_ other plans ready if that one didn't work. You could've made a _career_ out of ruining lives, but now you're just going through the motions. Face it: your heart's just not in it any more."

Clove closes her gaping mouth, chest heaving and face flushing. That can't be true. _Can it?_ She swallows hard. "Maybe he's just not worth the effort," she finally says, but neither of them is convinced.

* * *

 _\- clo_

 _\- clove_

 _\- u going to the party tonite_

 _\- ?_

\- Probably not

- _u should_

 _\- u can watch that peeta kid try to flirt w katniss_

 _\- u always like to watch him suffer_

\- That's true

 _\- and annie will be there_

 _\- i know u guys have that weird friendship going on where u act like ur not friends but u r_

\- Annie's going?

\- She doesn't really like parties

 _\- finnick insisted_

 _\- hes totally crazy for her_

 _\- its rly cute_

 _\- plus youll get to see thresh and that redhead chick be all quiet and awkward_

 _\- and gales bringing some girl that katniss HATES so therell prob be a huge catfight_

 _\- its gonna be a lot of fun_

\- You're trying really hard to get me to go

\- What's the catch?

- _well_

 _\- i think cato might be there too_

\- Of course he is

\- I'm not even surprised any more

 _\- u should go_

 _\- show that boy ur better than him_

 _\- i have a rlly cute dress u can borrow_

 _\- its super hot_

 _\- youll look so good in it_

\- Okay

 _\- wait what_

 _\- that was fast_

 _\- normally i have to threaten u w those embarrassing pics i have of the time u thought red lipstick would look good on u_

\- Oh my god

 _\- and u literally looked like a clown_

\- I can't believe you still have those

\- I thought I threw them all out the last time I was over at your place

 _\- silly clove_

 _\- im always prepared_

* * *

The dress does look good. _She_ looks good. Glimmer surveys her with the smug satisfaction of a woman who's just created a masterpiece and nods decisively. "You look _hot_ in orange, Clo. That dress was made for you."

Clove tugs at the low, _low_ neckline and frowns. "Didn't you say you've worn this before? How do you even fit in it? I can barely breathe, it's so tight."

Glimmer shrugs. "Persistence and sucking in," she says airily. "I only wore it once, though. It was obscene, even for me."

"I can't imagine how short it must be on you, then." Clove shakes her head in amazement and tries to pull the hem down, but that makes the neckline move down, too, so she stops and just stares at herself in the full-length mirror. "I don't think I should bend over in this."

"That's probably a good idea. Unless you _really_ want to show Cato how much he doesn't deserve you."

She wrinkles her nose. "Gross, Glim."

* * *

\- How is your girlfriend so sweet?

\- You don't deserve her

\- She's like literal sunshine and happiness and it's kind of sickening how cheerful she is

 _\- i know :)))_

 _\- im a lucky girl_

 _\- REALLY lucky_

\- Gross

\- Anyway

\- You were right

\- Annie and Finnick are super cute together

 _\- right?_

 _\- did u see marvs gf_

\- Yeah

\- What was her name again

\- Rue?

 _\- shes SO SMALL_

\- I'm pretty sure Marvel's going to get arrested for dating her

\- She looks like she's twelve

- _ur one to talk_

\- At least I can say I pass the five foot barrier.

 _\- barely_

\- Shut up

 _\- omggggg r u seeing this?_

 _\- katniss and the chick gale brought are totallly going at it_

 _\- idek why but its hilarious_

\- _peeta n gale look like theyre abt to cry_

\- Is no one breaking them up?

 _\- do u want to be the one to tell some girl with an axe to calm dwn_

\- No

\- Wait

\- She brought an axe?

\- Who even owns axes any more?

 _\- apparently johanna does_

 _\- oh wait_

 _\- thresh just pulled them apart_

 _\- hes literally dangling them in the air_

 _\- this is fantastic_

 _\- hello youtube fame_

 _\- wait clo_

 _\- where even r u?_

 _\- ur missing all the fun_

\- Outside

\- This weird kid kept inviting me to play video games at his house

\- I don't know if that's a euphemism or not

\- Normally I would assume yes, but this kid looks like a total nerd

 _\- its that dress ur wearing_

 _\- i told u it was hot_

\- I don't think this scrap of fabric qualifies as a dress

 _\- its street legal_

\- Barely

 _\- and it literally made cato shatter a glass in his hand when u walked in_

 _\- the look on his face_

 _\- ill treasure it forever_

\- No way

\- Are you serious?

 _\- hell yeah_

 _\- marv gave me this look of INTENSE SUFFERING and took him to get his hand bandaged_

\- Serves him right

 _\- which one ?_

\- Both

 _\- lollll tru_

\- I'm coming back inside now

\- I think the creepy nerd is gone

\- _clo?_

\- What?

 _\- catos looking for u_

\- Nope

 _\- ill try to distract him but i think hes on a mission_

 _\- uh oh_

 _\- he got away_

\- Shit

- _clo_

 _\- are u running_

 _\- i hear shouting_

 _\- im going outside_

 _\- if ur not ok im holding marv hostage_

\- I'm fine

\- Don't bother coming outside

\- _what happened?_

\- He just wanted to talk

\- His arrogance is overwhelming

\- And he KNOWS he's freakishly tall so he tries to loom over me like the freakish giant he is

\- And I don't even think he can physically stop smirking

\- And he tried to tell me a joke but he forgot the punchline

\- And he's a bad dancer

\- Like

\- Really bad

 _\- r u listing reasons to hate him or reasons to date him im confused_

\- Idk

\- Both?

\- I don't really think he's that bad

\- He just got defensive when I insulted Marvel

 _\- he told u that?_

\- No, I just figured

\- I mean

\- I can't really blame him

\- If some guy tried to insult you, I'd go to prison

 _\- awwww_

 _\- thats the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me_

 _\- its too bad ur straight_

 _\- we wld be so cuuuuuute together_

\- Glim

\- No offense

\- But you make Effie look low-maintenance

\- _wow_

 _\- thats low_

 _\- good thing u said no offense otherwise i wld be rly offended_

* * *

Clove knocks on Glimmer's door early the next morning, _hard_. As soon as her best friend opens the door, hair tousled, blinking sleep from her eyes, she jams a foot in the door and throws herself inside. Glimmer just stares at her, nonplussed. "Clo, what are you doing here?"

"What should I do?" she blurts out, ignoring the question.

Glimmer squints in confusion. "What do you mean, what should you do? What are you talking about?" Her eyes take in the way Clove's skinny arms are folded defensively over her chest, the tennis shoes she always wears whenever she needs to distract herself with exercise. "Did you _run_ all the way here?"

She starts to shake her head, hesitates, then shrugs. "Not really. I was going jogging to clear my mind and I realized it wasn't working so I figured I'd come and visit you."

"Clear your mind about what?" Glimmer can be gentle when she wants to be, and she's pulling every last reserve of softness for this.

Clove bites her lip. "It's stupid, I know, but…"

"Cato?" she prompts. Clove nods silently. "You're worried about how fast you stopped hating him, aren't you?" There's a pause, then slowly, guiltily, Clove nods again.

"It's just-" She finds a painting on the wall and stares at it like it's the most interesting thing in the world, anything to escape the knowing look in her best friend's eyes. "It feels so _sudden_. Like, one minute I'm throwing my drink at him and the next I'm trying not to laugh as he tries to dance. I just…" She breaks, continues. "I just don't know if it's right to forgive someone- to _like_ someone- that fast."

"I think it's up to you," Glimmer says very softly. "Does it feel right to you?"

Her voice is _raw_ with honesty when she says, "I don't know."

"Oh, honey, come here." Glimmer wraps her in a hug, and for a long moment, they just stand there in front of the open door, two girls so incredibly different but clinging to each other all the same. "You're my best friend and the smartest person I know. You'll figure it out. I believe in you. Always have, always will." Clove finds that painting above Glimmer's shoulder and focuses on it to remind herself that this is _not_ an emotional moment and certainly does _not_ require tears. It almost works.

A few minutes later, when Clove's hushed snuffling has faded or at least been forcibly quelled, Glimmer breaks the silence. "So, tell me, how bad was his dancing?"

Clove just _giggles_.

* * *

\- Omg

\- Glimmer

\- What did you do?

\- Glim I swear to god I'm freaking out right now

 _\- what do u mean_

\- Cato is standing at my front door

\- How does he even know where I live?

 _\- um_

 _\- sorry_

 _\- i told marv what cato said to u and he said hed handle it_

 _\- i mightve sent him ur address too_

\- I can't believe you

\- As soon as I can get Cato out of here, I'm going to hunt you down

\- You're going to regret betraying me

 _\- sorry_

 _\- whats he even doing there?_

\- Apologizing

\- Loudly

\- Through the closed and locked front door

 _\- u didn't let him in?_

\- He's clearly a deranged lunatic

\- So no

 _\- how long has he been there?_

\- At least fifteen minutes

\- I almost had him convinced I wasn't home, but he caught me running to my bedroom to get mace

 _\- just tell him to go away_

\- I already did

\- Multiple times

\- He's stubborn

 _\- or u could open the door a crack and spray mace in his eyes real quick before closing it again_

\- Tempting

\- Very tempting

\- But he's some sort of gym rat or something

\- He could probably rip the door off its hinges if he wanted to

\- I think he's trying to pick the lock

\- Brb

 _\- clove?_

 _\- omg_

 _\- pls dont be dead_

 _\- i swear if cato kills u ill hunt him down myself_

 _\- clove_

 _\- clovey_

 _\- cloveriffic_

 _\- ily so much please dont die_

 _\- im gonna count to ten before i call the cops_

 _\- one_

 _\- two_

 _\- three_

 _\- four_

\- Oh my god

\- I'm okay

\- Don't call the cops

\- _clove!_

 _\- ur alive!_

 _\- did u send away ur creepy stalker?_

\- Uh

\- Not really

 _\- omg_

 _\- r u serious_

 _\- why not?_

 _\- ?_

\- _!_

 _\- wtf clove_

 _\- im coming over_

* * *

\- _i shouldnt have come over_

 _\- omg_

 _\- i feel dirty_

\- Like I haven't walked into much worse with you and that Madge girl

\- I'm pretty sure that has to be illegal

\- And impossible

\- Nobody can bend like that without being half snake

 _\- shes a treasure_

 _\- but we're not talking about me_

 _\- we're talking about u MAKING OUT W THE ENEMY_

\- Oh my god

\- It was not making out, first of all

 _\- it was horrifying_

 _\- im pretty sure he lost his tongue somewhere in ur throat_

\- That's disgusting

 _\- TELL ME ABOUT IT_

 _\- I HAD TO SEE IT HAPPEN_

\- It was a really nice apology

 _\- did he apologize for being a douche before or after he tried to steal ur oxygen?_

\- Before

\- Duh

\- And I told him that if it happened again, I'd do way worse than throw my drink at him

- _hell yeah_

 _\- we're strong women who can take care of ourselves_

 _\- like hello we spent a semester at the academy practicing self defense_

 _\- nd u learned how to throw knives_

 _\- which_

 _\- prob illegal_

 _\- idk why enobaria even taught u that_

 _\- im pretty sure shes a felon_

 _\- a felon w bad teeth_

 _\- but it means u can defend urself against insanely hot transfer students if u need to_

\- I don't think I'll need to

 _\- just tell me if u ever do and we'll murder him together_

 _\- we can borrow johannas axe_

 _\- or sic some dogs on him_

 _\- or shave his head_

\- That one might actually kill him

 _\- whatever works_

\- You're the best

 _\- i know_

 _\- so_

 _\- double date?_

\- Do you even have to ask?


End file.
